The article-as-numbered-list has several features that make it inherently captivating: the headline catches our eye in a stream of content; it positions its subject within a preëxisting category and classification system, like “talented animals”; it spatially organizes the information; and it promises a story that’s finite, whose length has been quantified upfront. Together, these create…
I’m nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” He’s halfway through it now. (Nerd kids are awesome kids.) Similar:The annual patriotic showing of #1776 has begun.CultureI can't really articulate why i enjoy crafting #steampunk control panels, but it's been a …AestheticsPrincess of Wales photo furore underlines…
I love me a good Amazon mock review. Here are several. From scientific miracles to literary criticism, by way of bodily functions and failures of common sense. Many moons ago, I wrote about the art of the humorous Amazon review as a modern masterpiece of parodic genius, embodying Arthur Koestler’s seminal “bisociation” theory of how…
I would never have chosen to watch “Cowboys and Aliens” but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Similar:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a…
RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching.” Similar:RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think control…TweetsMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingOverheard…
RT @mkirschenbaum: Can’t see them well enough to read, but guy sitting next to me is typing out short, broken lines of text. Tempted to ask… Similar:Parallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not…
Faculty who need to publish for professional reasons can be motivated for reasons other than a royalty check, so this sounds like a good idea. The Affordable College Textbook Act, introduced by Durbin and Franken this month, aims to lower book costs by promoting the use of open-source textbooks. Open books, as defined by the…
Once, someone really cared about these old periodicals. The bound copies have been weeded out of my school library. Post by Dennis G. Jerz. Similar:Fun with Geometry — Biological and TheoreticalFor some reason today I was thinking of …AcademiaNature walks 2012 and 2018.AestheticsAllergic to Grammar ErrorsSource: Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm…Amusing[E-Mail is for Old People] –[E-Mail…
I expect my English majors not to balk when I ask them to learn new software. One good way to learn is to shadow someone who already knows it well. Even better, work with a classmate who’s just a step or two ahead — that way they can both learn together. In my “News Writing”…
“Goddammit, I don’t know what to do!” Obama said, banging his hands in frustration against a wall of binary as the entire healthcare.gov mainframe suddenly froze, forcing all previously flowing lines of code to come to a complete standstill. “I can’t fix this! Get me out of this place!” “Please! Just get me out of…
Descriptive grammarians rejoice. Formal written English is not the only legitimate form of the language, and the rules of formal written English don’t apply in all situations. Sure, it’s useful to know when to use who and whom, but it’s probably more useful to know that saying To whom did you give the book? in…
On the Civil War battlefield where President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that symbolized his presidency and the sacrifices made by Union and Confederate forces, thousands gathered Tuesday, historians and everyday Americans alike, to ponder what the Gettysburg Address has meant to the nation. —The Washington Post. Similar:Picture Books Languish as Parents Push ‘Big-Kid Books’Picture…
Grr! That “15 Xs who did Y” link looked interesting, but on the first page I saw it was broken up into 63 parts. Bad meme. No link for you. Similar:Jury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureYes, I do feel rather…
The construction is more versatile than “because+noun” suggests. Prepositional because can be yoked to verbs (Can’t talk now because cooking), adjectives (making up examples because lazy), interjections (Because yay!), and maybe adverbs too, though in strings like Because honestly., the adverb is functioning more as an exclamation. The resulting phrases are all similarly succinct and…
Wow… what a drab, unquoteworthy, unsoundbiteable, graphics-free presentation of findings that will be of tremendous interest to the general public. TV but not electronic games predicted a small increase in conduct problems. Screen time did not predict other aspects of psychosocial adjustment. Further work is required to establish causal mechanisms.. Similar:4 writing lessons from the…
RT @avantgame: 11,000 kids tracked for A DECADE to see if videogames lead to negative attention, behavioral, mood impact. Result: NO http:/… Similar:Overheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaHello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsAnd the girl has succeeded in getting…
@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cast & crew. A great night of theater @setonhill #biglove Similar:My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years…
Setting out to take my teen to see #biglove at #setonhill Similar:Tweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last…
My 15yo wanted to show me Terminator 4, but he opted to watch T3 w/ his little sister (her first time). Nerd siblings are awesome siblings. Similar:The Dadliest DecadeThe eighties, at least, were drenched in…HomeSchadendrücke: Click-shameHomeYour Brain Does Not Work Like a ComputerThe brain-as-computer is a powerful meme…HealthMore split-screen actinghttp://youtu.be/EGgeZWskEs8DesignWhat my classroom looks like during…
Suddenly, something that had been unthinkable–that the Internet might put a free, Ivy League–caliber education within reach of the world’s poor–seems tantalizingly close. “Imagine,” an investor in the Professor’s company says, “you can hand a kid in Africa a tablet and give him Harvard on a piece of glass!” The wonky term for the Professor’s…